The Summer that Changed Everything (Complete)

Chapter 38 - Bonus Chapter

***** 16 Years Later *****

"Are you guys ready for movie night?" Lynn yelled up the stairs.

A minute later her 16 year old son Carson appeared at the top of the stairs. He had grown so much over the last year and he was tall and handsome and looked just like his Dad at that age.

"Where are your sisters? Tell them to come down too please," she told him.

He turned around and banged on his 14 year old sister Madison's door and his 10 year old sister Grace's door too. A minute later all three of her kids were making their way down the stairs.

"Time for family movie night guys!" she said excitedly and her two teenagers groaned. This was something they did at their house every two weeks with her brother and his kids and the kids usually complained about the choice of movie the parents picked.

Her 10 year old Grace was the only one that was smiling and looked excited. She always had a good attitude, unlike her angsty siblings.

Right then the front door opened and Brady came in carrying a couple huge pizza boxes. He was followed behind by her brother Wes and his wife, also known as Lynn's best friend Kate. Yes her best friend ended up marrying her brother (so cliche) and they had two kids of their own, a boy and a girl. They were 15 year old twins, Levi and Lacey.

Lynn walked over and gave Kate a hug and hugged her niece and nephew and brother. They only lived 30 minutes away but she always hugged them tight like she hadn't seen them in forever.

Unfortunately Bella and Max didn't live close so they only got to see them around Christmas time and the 4th of July when they would come to stay at Lynn and Brady's house in Colorado for a week.

Bella was currently living in New York with her long time live-in boyfriend in a tiny studio apartment and they were both artists. They hadn't had any kids yet and didn't plan to. She was always the "cool aunt" when she came to visit, telling her nieces all about her crazy adventures in New York City.

Max had followed in his big brother's footsteps and became an amazing quarterback. He had a very short but successful stint in the NFL with the Denver Broncos before he got injured and had to retire. Now he was a football commentator in Texas where he lived with his much younger and beautiful wife. They had a little three year old daughter and his wife had just given birth to a little boy 6 months ago.

For movie night, everyone took their coats off and got a plate of pizza and snacks and pretty soon they were all gathered around the TV, the kids all laying on the floor with a bunch of pillows and blankets. Lynn loved how close their kids were with their cousins.

Before starting the movie she got up and stood in front of the group and said, "This is a special family movie night. I realized the other day that you kids had never seen the very first movie that your Dad and I ever made together."

"No!" all the kids groaned.

"It's SO awkward and weird watching you and Dad in movies. I cringe the whole time!" Carson complained.

His sisters nodded and agreed.

"Well you can cringe if you want to but we're all watching it together," Brady walked up beside Lynn and told the kids and she appreciated his support. "It's not bad. It didn't win an Oscar or anything but for your Mom's first movie she did a great job."

"Thank you honey," she told him with a smile, leaning in and giving him a kiss.

"Uggghhhh!" all the kids groaned when they saw the kiss and she laughed.

"Hey! You all should be happy we love each other so much or none of you would exist!" she told them.

She popped on the movie and dimmed the lights before snuggling up on the couch next to Brady. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and whispered, "I love you," in her ear.

She smiled over at him and said, "I love you too." Even after all these years, being with him made her so happy.

Watching the first movie they ever made together brought back so many memories. It was a James Bond movie where Brady played James Bond and she was a bond girl and it was full of action and had a really strong love story.

When it was over she hopped up and turned on the lights and asked, "So what did you guys think?"

"It was actually really good," their oldest, Carson, said. "It was probably my favorite one of your movies. It actually makes me want to do a movie."

"Maybe one day," Brady said, getting up and standing in front of the room. "I actually have an announcement to make." She looked over at him and smiled because she already knew what he was going to say and she knew their reaction wouldn't be good.

"So the other day I realized that we have all been really busy this year. Carson with football, Maddie with dance and Grace with Taekwondo and even when we are at home you guys spend a lot of time in your rooms on electronics. So your Mom and I talked the other day and decided we're going to bring back an old family tradition."

Wes stood up and walked over to Lynn and Brady's side and said, "And our family is participating too."

Brady nodded and said, "We're bringing back the old Technology Free Summer. No electronics of any kind."

"What?!" Maddie shouted. "You can't be serious!"

Levi and Lacey looked at each other and their faces looked panicked. They had always heard stories about the electronics free summer rule their Grandma had enforced but they never thought it would happen to them.

"We're very serious!" Lynn said with a smile. "Just wait. I bet you guys will have the most amazing summer of your lives. Get out of the house! Explore the world! Now that Carson's old enough to drive, you guys can go where you want. Make up a list of things you want to do this summer and we'll pay for it. It just has to be local."

"Maybe Carson could hang out with that cute neighbor girl across the street. I saw her giving you the googly eyes the other day," Kate said, raising her eyebrows at him as she popped some popcorn in her mouth.

"Ugh! Aunt Kate. Don't even say that. She's SO not my type," he grumbled.

"You never know. Stranger things have happened," Kate said with a knowing smirk and Lynn smiled at her. She knew what she was referring to. She would've never in a million years thought her and Brady would end up together before that summer but look how that turned out.

"You guys may hate the idea of a technology free summer now but believe me. It will grow on you. So go round up all of your electronics and bring them down here and put them in this box. You'll get them back at the end of the summer," Brady said.

They grumbled and complained about it all the way upstairs.

Brady slid his hand into Lynn's and gave her a smile. "You know, if it wasn't for our technology free summer you and I probably would've never gotten to know each other. Neither of us would've gotten into acting. We would've never fallen in love and had this amazing life together and made 3 beautiful babies. That summer changed our lives forever."

"Yes it did," she said with a smile. "I've thanked my Mom for it so many times throughout the years. That was still the best summer of my life."

"Mine too," he agreed, leaning forward and giving her a kiss.

She couldn't wait to see how the kids' summer went and she hoped they would end up having the summer of their lives' and appreciating it like they had when they were younger. She couldn't even imagine what her life would've ended up like if it hadn't been for that summer she spent with Brady falling in love, learning to believe in herself, and getting up the courage to follow her dreams. Just like Brady said, that summer changed everything.